1-22-10 Rosie on Oprah!

The show was so much fun! There's so much to share and I don't want to give away everything that they talked about but here's a quick rundown.

The Oprah Show staff were very organized and very accommodating. First you stand in line for a while and they lead you in in groups of 20 or so. Then they take your coat and your cell phone, camera and any other electronics you might have with you and then they search through your purse (if you have one.) And when I say search I mean SEARCH. They go through everything, your glass case, open your wallet, look in all the pockets and they take out anything electrical - ipods, phones, camera cords, my memory card reader and they put them in a zip lock bag and hand it back to you after the taping. But you're so excited to be going to see Oprah, you don't even care. I would have let them feel me up to get in there at that point.

Then you are led to a "green room" where there are photos of Oprah and important people on the walls - Nelson Mandela, Tina Turner, Jennifer Lopez, Tom Hanks, the Sex and the City cast, etc. Funny I just put the Sex and the City cast in the same "important person" sentence as Nelson Mandela, but I digress. When in the green room we couldn't tell what time it was because women don't wear watches anymore, we all use our cell phones for time and those were taken. You spend about an hour (I'm guessing) or maybe two chatting with the people around you. I met some really great people too! I met Darci and her mom (the rosie radio caller who won two tickets from Rosie!) and Terri and her friend from Hobart who I can't remember her name (two other great women - I was in an Oprah/Rosie fog sorry! The first time I met Rosie I forgot where I lived, it happens to me every time!)

After a while we were called into the actual studio where they tape the show like we had restaurant reservations. I do not know how they did the order but it seemed like it had some sort of rhyme or reason to it. We didn't have great seats, unfortunately. If you can imagine the studio was shaped like a U and we sat at one of the top ends of the U. There was so much to take in, the monitors, the cameras, the production staff, the hair and makeup people, the seaters - it was amazing. There was a "preshow" where they got everyone pumped up for the show to begin and we all got up and did the "flashmob" dance that they did that day in Chicago with the Black Eyed Peas. (I did not dance like the crazy lady in front, I swear)

The dance in case you've never seen it!

Then it was time for the O to come out and she did. Without major introduction, Oprah came down the aisle of the studio audience barefoot with her assistant carrying her Christian Louboutin's for her to wear during the interview. She was gracious and BEAUTIFUL and waved hello and made small talk with the crowd. I just kept thinking "I can't believe she's real." She's real, like an actual person. It was crazy! And she's thin, and I think she looks fantastic. Then just like that, she introduced Rosie and the audience stood and applauded. Rosie looks great too! She also looks thin and healthy and her hair is lighter (maybe highlights?). She looked (but always looks) perfect to me. She was smiling and seemed really, truly happy and at peace.

They talked about EVERYTHING. I don't want to ruin it for those of you waiting to watch on Monday but they talked about the View squabble, her new HBO documentary, how she and Kelli are co-parenting since their breakup, Barbara Walters, the death of Rosie's mother, the post-Columbine phone-call she made to Oprah, the drug of fame, Celebrity Detox, the previous cancelled Oprah appearance, how Tracy is moving in with her kids, how she and Tracy met, the radio show, blogging, blogs and bloggers, how families are forever, and becoming more of your authentic self. I'm sure there were other things but I can't remember as my Rosie/Oprah fog is just beginning to lift.

They did not talk about RBK (which I sort of found surprising), the tragedy in Haiti or the whole "Oprah and Gayle are gay" comment she once made. Rosie didn't mention the recap blog either but I'll give her a pass on that! (joke people).

I think the interview was perfection. Rosie was so comfortable and open and Oprah is seriously an amazing interviewer. She is so engaged in the conversation - its truly like the audience isn't even there. She asks her questions honestly based off of the answers that are given. She's been doing it her entire life and it shows. It felt so natural like we were just lucky enough to eavesdrop on a private conversation between the two of them. We saw the Broll footage from the studio and some long clips from the documentary as well as interviews with the O'Donnell kids. Just wait, that part was so fantastic to see!

Because I care about Rosie so much I just wanted this interview to be great for her. I wanted Oprah to love our Rosie like we all do. And here's how I know the O loves our Ro. If you're a frequent Oprah viewer (which I am) there is this signature Oprah move she does when she loves a guest as they are joking or agreeing on something where she gives them a high-ten (like a high-five except with both hands) and she and the guest interlock fingers, smile and hold hands in the air for a moment. Have you ever seen her do this? It is a total Oprah move. It's like the O seal of approval. Well, I knew when I saw her do that with Rosie that there was true connection and appreciation- from Oprah to our Rosie. The O loves Ro- fo' sho. And THAT made me happiest of all.

Lastly, Rosie's take on the whole Barbara Walters confrontation was so utterly real. There was a day on the View after the whole Donald Trump scandal where Rosie and Babs got "into it." Oprah had once asked Barbara about it in an interview when she came on the show to discuss her book Audition. I loved how Rosie explained how she honestly had hurt feelings that Barbara didn't stand up for her to Dump Truck and what came out as anger was really simply Rosie having hurt feelings. She said "she should have cried" that that would have been the brave thing to do. Immediately Oprah followed that up with 'that's so interesting that you say that crying would be the brave thing to do.' Because usually crying is a sign of weakness but to Rosie she went to anger immediately to protect herself rather than "being brave" and showing her vulnerability. It was a precious, honest, raw moment that was riveting to witness and so validating and human about an entire situation that was completely blown out of proportion by the media. If I was Rosie's publicist I would have stood and cheered. It was fantastic. It is why Rosie is so amazing. I loved and love her honesty. It was my second favorite moment next to the Oprah High 10 signature move!

After the show they did a little "after the show" Oprah bit but I can't really remember what they talked about during that part.

The whole experience was amazing and it felt surreal to just sit back and watch. I think it was a fantastic interview and I can't wait for you all to see it!!! If you have any questions, post them here in the comments and I'll do my best to answer them so go to the comments section to read more.

Carrie and I after the show posing for the classic bathroom mirror shot!

Oh, and Rosie bought a Sirius radio and a 3 month Sirius subscription for everyone in the audience. Because, that's Rosie and that's what she does, right?

PS. The radio show today was a repeat - a compilation of previously recorded radio. Just FYI.

Thanks for all the well-wishes and I'll be back to recapping the radio show on Monday (and stop talking about myself. This blog is about Rosie Radio not Kelly's life). Don't forget to watch the interview Monday too!!!! I want to hear what you all thought. CLICK HERE to read Carrie's take on the ROprah experience.

that was a great play by play!!! thank you.im glad she touched on the BW/Trump chaos. when it happened, i was bothered too that BW felt it was more important to preserve the "friendship" with Dump Trump then stick up for a Rosie.

thanks Kelly, you made me feel like I was there in person, I just started coming here and I just love reading your interpetation of the show, it is very helpful for me because I miss the show a lot due to the fact that I am homebound trying to recuperate after surgery, so again I thank you for being my eyes and ears about Rosie!!!xoxoxo

thankyou kelly for the play-by-play...better than espn fo'sho!! i could hardly read fast enough to get to the next line, filled with such detail!! thankyou. and you captured, so poignantly (sp?) why we all love rosie...TVR, true,vulnerable, real! kelly, you are a fabulous communicator, please know that we are out here with the utmost appreciation!! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxwendy perkinsxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Thanks for sharing so much Kelly. I just could not wait that long, Monday is sooo far away to hear about. I didn't know that Rosie cancelled a previous Oprah show? When was that? I love your O loves Ro fo sho too. Great blog about the show. You guys look great in that photograph. I just bought one of those Oprah magazines hoping to win a golden ticket. But it said, sorry try again. Today at Publix, I told my husband, block me from view while I rip off the page in a few Oprah Magazines. He said, Shocked, you are soooo not doing that. I will buy you more. Ha Ha Ha. My husband is so funny. He actually thought I might do that. Now i want to see an Oprah taping. The May show will be the tenth anniversary of her magazine. Buy a magazine. Maybe you will get lucky and win THE GOLDEN TICKET. <3

Candy, I believe (bloggers correct me if I'm wrong) that Rosie was scheduled to appear on Oprah when Celebrity Detox was released in 2007 but canceled the appearance due to the tension from the View, Donald Trump and I think she was voted "most annoying celebrity" right around that time. I don't think I'll be going back to Oprah anytime soon. It was a once in a lifetime and I'm happy just to sit back and remember...

Here's Carrie's blog post if you want to read more... http://wadyphoto.blogspot.com/2010/01/oprah-and-rosie.html Its good. She mentioned some things I forgot like the silver YES SILVER straw in Rosie's water.

sounds like you had such a fantastic time and a memory to treasure foreverthanks for giving us the scoop on what was talked about etc....i loved reading about the behind the scenes pre show (no cellphone.....I still wear a watch! LOL) and how you get seated etc.....we'd never see that on TV and now I know!

as for the cancelled appearance I do think it was during the view tension and that's why she didn't go on to promote her Celebrity detox book

WOW Kelly & Carrie!! I'm so happy y'all were able to have this wonderful experience and that you shared it with us! can't wait to watch on Monday! May I be nosey and ask how you got the tickets? Did you win the essay contest that some of us entered on www.oprah.com? just curious! Thanks for your great blog here! I'm very behind on reading it though lol

Sure Joey, you can be nosey! Its not nosey at all actually. Yes, Carrie and I entered the essay contest separately but Carrie was the one who got the email and invited me to go with her. It was like winning the lottery. Seriously. She knows people that have been trying to get tickets for YEARS. We both felt very lucky to be there.

thanks so much for giving us an update ....i cannot wait to tune in on monday........i think she did not go on oprah cause of the view tension.....kelly u did a great job recap the whole experinece i am so happy for u that u got to go ......cheers

Thanks for sharing your Oprah story Carrie.I'm glad it was such a meaningful experience for you.I didn't know Oprah's guests used silver straws to sip their water! I can just imagine Rosie's reaction to that!

You mentioned that the bloggers had a picture taken with Rosie.Do you have it Kelly or Carrie?It would be great to see it posted!

No cameras were allowed past the coat check so no one had any cameras in the studio.

I've had many chances to meet and spend quality time with Rosie at book signings and post shows outside the theater(s). When she called the bloggers up, Carrie and I did not go up. We decided to just watch and let the others get a chance with her and just take in the moment. :)